Archives by: Neil Cuthbert

It was, as the football commentators used to say, 'A game of two halves'.
The opening day of conference - Friday - was all about the Prime Minister. This her first chance to make a major policy speech on Scotland and her approach to the defining issue of our age - independence.
The Prime Minister left no-one who heard her speech in any doubt that she is Unionist to the core. She believes passionately and to the tips of her fingers in the ...

At the end of 2016, Public Affairs Co-op carried out its first Twitter poll. The question asked was simple Y/N - Will a second referendum on Scottish independence take place during 2017?
The answer was clear cut - Yes 22% No 78% - on a turnout of 262.
The polling took place just before the Christmas break. Despite the result we were surprised as everyone else when not long after January's return to work, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon advised in an STV interview ...

Public Affairs Co-operative is a business firmly rooted in the city we’re proud to be based in: Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh.
City leaders are taking forward a big exercise looking at where the capital is now and where it is going in the future. Edinburgh 2050 is all about what kind of city we want to live in 30 years from now.
So we were really pleased to be invited by Edinburgh Business Forum to take part in an event this week looking ...

My colleague David Lee has written already about Conservative Party conference #CPC16 in Birmingham and what we learned about developing rural policy in the post Brexit world.
Scanning the huge number of fringe events taking place at conference gives a big clue about what the key public policies issues are challenging politicians in the governing party and crying out for answers.
So what were the recurring themes amongst the fringe in Birmingham? No surprise Brexit was definitely number one. Northern Powerhouse figured highly, ...

In August last year Public Affairs Co-op published our ‘Politico’s Guide’ to the Edinburgh Festivals.
Looking at the shows we highlighted then it is clear how much the upcoming independence referendum (remember that…) dominated everyone’s thinking.
Well if a week is a long time in politics then a whole year seems like a huge amount has happened in the twelve months since last year’s festival.
We’re still political junkies here at Public Affairs Co-op and love to get our fix from the many shows, ...

Public Affairs Co-op is the first of its kind; a public affairs consultancy guided by ethics.
Public Affairs Co-operative is the UK’s first ethical, democratically run, worker led co-operative specialising in stakeholder engagement and lobbying.
At our launch in March 2014, we made 10 commitments to ethical conduct and co-operative principles. We wanted to update you on how we are matching up to this call to action.
This year, Public Affairs Co-op has focussed its investment on education, skills training, and information, with the ...

CISSIE LIU, Public Affairs Co-operative's graduate intern from the University of Edinburgh's Master of Public Policy Programme looks at how the new Conservative Government is approaching the issue of energy policy.
THE Queen’s Speech heightened fears that David Cameron’s Conservative Government has renewable energy in its sights. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, reacted by urging Westminster to consult devolved administrations more widely on energy policy and by demanding a veto on any change to wind power subsidies. If ‘uncertainty is the new ...

CISSIE LIU, Public Affairs Co-operative’s graduate intern from the University of Edinburgh’s Master of Public Policy Programme comes to us with over 5 years of experience in parliamentary affairs in Canada. Here she offers insight into what Britain can expect from the SNP’s astonishing general election success drawing on lessons from Canada and Québec.
The political map in the UK is being redrawn. The SNP made history last Thursday, winning 56 out of 59 Scottish seats at Westminster. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats ...

DAVID LEE of Public Affairs Co-Op is a media and events expert with significant experience in the renewable energy sector. Here, he explains how he has seen the landscape change....
WITH momentum slower than expected in the development of offshore wind and increasing opposition in rural areas to sizeable onshore developments, it would be easy to be downbeat about renewable energy in Scotland.
However, the sector is thriving at a localised and small-scale level - and making a genuine and positive difference to ...

Ben McLeish, Director of Public Affairs Co-op, asks if it is time for a change of emphasis in Scottish further education.
Having read the Scottish Government’s response to the final report from the Commission for Developing Scotland's Young Workforce led by Sir Ian Wood, the one thing that jumped out at me was the full-time path that Further Education (FE) Colleges in Scotland have now been set off in.
Is this a case of 2 good or 2 bad? (Sorry Match of the ...

Calendar

Social Activities

About Us

We are a values driven business - ethical and open, worker-led, autonomous, community-minded. Our aim is to provide a service to organisations who share similar values and want to know those values are kept front and centre in how they conduct their communications.